MIDDLEBURY — Law enforcement in Addison County have taken into custody a man with a lengthy record for mental health issues following a reported possible shooting and stabbing incident on U.S. 7 in Middlebury on Wednesday evening.

Josh Puma, 39, is most recently from Middlebury and had lived earlier in South Burlington, Shelburne and Charlotte, court records show.

He was apprehended about 7:15 p.m. following about a 90-minute incident at a residence near Rosie’s restaurant, Vermont News First was told. Middlebury Police were able to get Puma to surrender peacefully.

Middlebury Police said tonight that Puma was taken to Porter Medical Center, where he was treated for “an apparent non-life-threatening injury,” which was not disclosed.

Josh Puma remained in custody Wednesday night as police worked with the Vermont Attorney General’s Office to determine possible criminal charges.

Here are some preliminary details that Vermont News First was told early in the evening by officials about the Middlebury incident:

Initial reports indicated that one man, Puma’s father, James, was stabbed and taken to Porter Hospital, apparently by his wife, Janet.

Middlebury Police later disclosed the victim also was peppersprayed.

James Puma of Shelburne was initially taken with a stab wound to the Middlebury hospital and later airlifted by helicopter to the UVM Medical Center in Burlington. His condition was unknown tonight.

Meanwhile the father had reportedly fired a gunshot toward Josh Puma, officials said. The son barricaded himself inside the residence on U.S. 7 after his parents fled, Vermont News First was told. He eventually surrendered.

Puma was sentenced in July 2023 in U.S. District Court in Rutland to 20 months in federal prison for serious threats to Vermont public officials. The sentencing judge also ordered Puma to serve three years of supervised release following his incarceration.

He remains under federal supervision. Puma had a hearing on June 17 in federal court in Burlington to review a pending charge. Senior Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford agreed to a request by James and Janet Puma to relax the requirements of supervision of their son for them. Crawford agreed to allow just one parent to be with their son from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, and agreed to some flexibility in monitoring him during the day.

Puma is due back in federal court in September for a pending charge for violating his supervised release conditions, records show. The defense said it was still trying to find an expert to review his mental status. They have an Aug. 31 deadline.

The latest federal violation charge stems from Puma’s arrest on state charges for stalking and criminal threatening at Middlebury College, where he was working, officials said. He reportedly targeted two co-workers late last year.

Earlier, according to court documents, between July 2021 and January 2022, Puma called a Vermont Department of Corrections reporting line hundreds of times and made threats.

Puma was charged by federal indictment for three of those calls in which he (1) threatened to kill a state court judge and a defense attorney, (2) threatened to kill a state court judge and sexually assault a state prosecutor, and (3) threatened to kill a state court judge, records show.

Puma pleaded guilty to all three charged threats that were transmitted in interstate commerce. Puma’s threats were made over the prison reporting line, which is recorded, and there were almost 300 calls, officials said.

Puma specifically described his intention upon release from jail to kill and maim those state officials, in addition to harming and killing other members of the legal community, records show.

As described in court documents, Puma has mental health issues and was previously ordered hospitalized by the state court. He is well known to South Burlington and Shelburne Police. He served a 4-to-12 month sentence for punching his state public defender in the face in September 2019, court records show.

For Wednesday night, law enforcement officers were flooding the area, which is near G Stone Motors, police said.

Middlebury Police Chief Jason Covey told Vermont News First early this evening as the incident was breaking he was unable to discuss the case in detail.

Vermont State Police said town police are the primary law enforcement agency for the case.

The Addison County Sheriff’s Department also reportedly offered its services.

The road was shut down between McDonald’s restaurant and Aubuchon Hardware, according to Vermont Alert.